Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Democrat Barack Obama proposed easing access to retirement accounts and imposing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures for some homeowners as part of a plan to boost the economy and aid middle-income taxpayers.

``At this rate, the question isn't just, are you better off than you were four years ago?, it's, are you better off than you were four weeks ago?'' Obama said in a speech today in Toledo, Ohio. ``We face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action.''

Among other measures, Obama wants the Federal Reserve and Treasury to lend money to state and municipal governments that are having trouble raising money and for federal lawmakers to ``keep all options open'' to help struggling automakers.

The Democratic presidential candidate's advisers say all of the measures, including a $3,000 tax credit to companies for each new job they create in the U.S., should be done immediately, either through existing authority or emergency legislation.

The economic crisis is dominating the presidential campaign, and polls show voters are favoring Obama over Republican candidate John McCain to deal with it. The Illinois senator has opened a 10 percentage point lead over McCain, 53 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters nationally in a Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Oct. 8-11. That's up from a 4 point lead in a Post-ABC poll taken at the end of September.

New Ethic

Obama said the nation needs a new ``ethic of responsibility'' because part of the reason for the current financial crisis is ``everyone was living beyond their means, from Wall Street to Washington to even some on Main Street.''

The foreclosure moratorium would apply to banks that are getting capital through the $700 billion rescue plan approved by Congress. It would impose a 90-day ban on foreclosures on homeowners who are making ``good faith efforts'' to keep current on their mortgages.

Obama said federal authorities also should ease the way for loans to states and localities that are having trouble borrowing. California, the largest municipal borrower as well as one of the lowest-rated among U.S. states, may need federal help if it can't raise capital amid turmoil in the credit markets to cover a shortfall in tax collections, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said.

For the auto industry, Obama said the government should ``fast track'' the loan guarantees already approved and ``provide more as needed'' so that the U.S. is leading the manufacturing of next generation fuel-efficient cars.

Retirement Accounts

Obama, 47, ``welcomed'' a proposal by McCain to suspend rules requiring retirees to begin liquidating Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s at age 70 1/2 to avoid selling assets while markets are down. He would expand it to allow all Americans to withdraw up to 15 percent, with a maximum of $10,000, without facing the tax penalties such withdrawals usually carry.

``At a time when the ups and downs of the stock market have rarely been so unpredictable and dramatic, we also need to give families and retirees more flexibility and security when it comes to their retirement savings,'' Obama said.

He also endorsed suspending taxes on unemployment insurance benefits.

McCain, an Arizona senator, held a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia, today with his running mate Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, and sought to further distance himself from Republican President George W. Bush.

`Hour is Late'

``We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight, waiting for our luck to change,'' he said. ``The hour is late, our troubles are getting worse, our enemies watch.''

McCain didn't present any new proposals on the economy. He repeated his plan to buy up troubled home loans as a way to help beleaguered borrowers.

``I'm not going to spend $700 billion of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess,'' McCain said. ``I'm going to spend a lot of that money to bring relief to you, and I'm not going to wait 60 days to start doing it.''

He went on the attack against Obama's economic proposals, saying they would raise taxes and restrict trade. ``The American people heard a series of new proposals from Barack Obama today, but what they did not hear was a promise to stop pursuing his massive tax increases,'' McCain's spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

McCain acknowledged his underdog status in the race and said he would use that to his advantage.

``We have 22 days to go. We're six points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes'' in the White House, McCain told the cheering and chanting crowd.

``But, you know what they forgot? They forgot to let you decide,'' he said. ``My friends, we've got them just where we want them.''

The two candidates will stage their final debate before the Nov. 4 election on Wednesday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Benjamin in Washington at Mbenjamin2@bloomberg.net; Lorraine Woellert at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 13, 2008 16:43 EDT